Sunday’s Trump–O’Reilly interview. Given the egos of both dudes, maybe it was the O’Reilly-Trump interview.

It was Bill’s seventh presidential sit-down and his third Superbowler White House hoo-hah in a row. Obama, who can concoct an answer while stirring his pot of poi, fielded the questions while cooking. This Sunday it got done grocery-less.

Bill: “Flying from LA, I arrived 3 a.m. Two hours sleep. We taped in the first floor Flag Room. Sitting in were his economic adviser, daughter, son-in-law, VP, p.r. person, tons of people. Three cameras, 40 minutes, nobody requested questions in advance, no do-not-ask-such-and-such rules beforehand.

“Never seeing him conduct business before, I note he was sharper than in social settings. Very focused. No time for chitchat beforehand. It was limited to his saying: ‘How come you’re taller than I am?’ He took pictures with the crew and a moment to be gracious to them.”

Both men embodied similar bent forward toward one another posture. O’Reilly’s done chief executives way before Lincoln, but isn’t there some small frisson of nerves before interrogating a sitting President of the United States of America?

“I was blunt but not condemning. His answers were straightforward. And take into consideration he knows I’ll be tough but not accusatory and I wasn’t trying to hurt him.

“Look, you can only take something up to the line. Not cross it. As he answers you can’t push him as you would an ordinary citizen, nor can you give him jazz as with anyone else. You go to the next question. You must respect the office.”

So Sunday, did O’Reilly tune in to his Super Bowl supersit-down? You bet your asset. And sitting in his own house on his own couch watching his own TV.

History of the Universe

The Miss Universe Pageant was just held in the Philippines. The lovely Iris Mittenaere of France nabbed the crown. Nobody mentioned that I, me, I’m the one who originally brought it to Manila, first Asian land to ever host this, in 1974. The Miss Universe Pageant was then owned by Kayser-Roth Co. As assistant-to-the-president I booked the celebrity judges plus, often, the international venues.

I knew Imelda Marcos. I phoned and told her our half a million viewers would do wonders for her nation’s tourism.

The country’s then-First Lady built us a special theater. Open on two sides. Beautiful. But one day before, a hurricane threatened the island of Luzon.

Undaunted, Imelda sent up the Philippine air force and seeded the black clouds, which then floated out to within a 50-mile radius for 24 hours. Long enough for our TV to beam live.

Later Donald bought the pageant — and I was a judge for him in Hawaii. And nobody’s made mention of how all that happened.

Setting the ticket stage

A producer on why a legit theater ticket’s costly: “Forget salaries, stars, playwright percentages, there’s huge cost before one seat’s sold. A musical needs a million-dollar reserve in front because, if you’re not earning enough, this amount guarantees the house rental. Another $2 million is p.r. and advertising — TV, ads, taxi tops, magazines, newspapers.

“A simple one-set can cost a million. The load-in, truckers, handlers, scenery designers loading the stuff in, sets you back another $750,000.”

A Broadway pro about a Broadway playwright. “He writes for the ages. The ages between 4 and 12.”